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Butternut squash soup is a staple when it comes to cozy and comforting winter recipes. But this recipe takes everything that you know and love about butternut squash soup and raises it to the next level. This Roasted Butternut Squash Feta Soup (with Sourdough Feta Croutons) is a creamy bowl of joy. Filled with tender chunks of butternut squash, rich feta cheese, and the perfect amount of herbs and seasonings, this is a soup that only gets better with time. Plus, it’s topped with homemade sourdough feta croutons, making this dish feel like an elevated take on grilled cheese and soup. What could be better than that?!
Friends, file this under the list of things that I’d never think to do: blend feta cheese into butternut squash soup. While I love a good dairy-free butternut squash soup, I do enjoy cheese too. So, when Athenos Feta reached out to me to put my spin on MacKenzie of Grilled Cheese Social‘s version, I jumped at the opportunity!
I love feta cheese. Whether I’m making a hearty greek salad or a creamy whipped feta dip, feta cheese is versatile and tastes delicious no matter how it’s prepared! And this soup is no exception. In this recipe, we’ll be using the feta cheese, twice: first in the soup itself, and second, in the sourdough feta croutons that are too good to be true. Now, the key to getting the perfect tangy, salty flavor that the feta cheese gives to this soup is to use greek feta cheese that comes as a block! These blocks are packed in a brine that keeps the cheese salty and moist, which means that it’s richer in flavor than crumbled feta cheese.
And the best part about this soup? It also happens to be vegetarian-friendly! This is the perfect soup to make for a Meatless Monday, or ahead of Veganuary. It’s packed with so much flavor, you won’t miss the meat at all!
What You Need to Make This Delicious Cheesy Soup
- Butternut Squash: Creamy butternut squash is abundant, this time of year and is one of my favorite soup ingredients. It makes a creamy, slightly-sweet soup that pairs perfectly with the rich olive oil and feta cheese. Yum!
- Olive Oil: Olive oil not only adds healthy fats to this soup, but it adds a rich and delicious flavor, too. It’s truly my favorite to use, in this recipe!
- Seasonings: To season the soup and the croutons, you’ll need a combination of kosher salt, aleppo pepper, italian seasoning, and garlic powder.
- Feta Cheese: Creamy feta cheese is used in both the soup and the croutons, and is what makes this soup absolutely delicious! You’ll want two types of feta cheese, for this recipe: a block stored in brine, and crumbled feta cheese.
- Garlic: A fresh garlic bulb adds the most delicious garlic flavor! It’s a must for this recipe.
- Vegetable Broth: To keep this soup vegetarian-friendly, I like using vegetable broth. However, any type of broth works well! If you want to add some extra protein, chicken bone broth also works well.
- Honey: A touch of honey adds the perfect amount of sweetness without overpowering the soup.
- Sourdough Bread: Sourdough bread makes the yummiest croutons that are crispy on the outside, yet soften to the perfect consistency as they sit in the soup.
How to Make This Creamy, Vegetarian-Friendly Soup With Croutons
How to Make the Soup:
To make the soup, start by preheating your oven to 400 F. Next, prepare the butternut squash by washing it and chopping it into cubes. Place the cubes into a dutch oven, alongside the olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning. Toss until the butternut squash is fully coated in the seasonings.
Nestle the feta cheese block in the center of the pot with the butternut squash, then slice the garlic bulb and place the garlic, cut-side down, onto the feta cheese block. Place the cover on top of the dutch oven, then place it in the oven to bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the squash is tender and the cheese is melted.
While the soup is cooking, prepare the feta cheese croutons according to the instructions below. Remove the pot from the oven, take off the cover, and pull out the garlic bulb. Squeeze the garlic into the pot and add in the honey. Mix until the ingredients are fully combined.
Then, transfer the butternut squash mixture into a blender, alongside the vegetable broth, and blend until the soup is smooth and creamy. Taste the soup and season with more sea salt, if desired. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with the sourdough feta croutons, then serve and enjoy!
How to Make the Croutons:
To make the sourdough feta croutons, start by slicing the bread into cubes. Next, add the bread cubes to a bowl alongside the olive oil, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning, and toss to combine.
Then, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the feta cheese crumbles evenly across the baking sheet. Press the bread cubes on top of the feta cheese crumbles, so that the bread will stick to the cheese as it melts!
Finally, place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges of the feta cheese are crispy. Once the croutons are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool before removing them from the baking sheet. Then, add them to the soup and enjoy!
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a review and rating below! To see more recipes and behind the scenes, follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube! I’m also now on Pinterest, so stop by and take a look at what’s new.
** Photography by Tanya Pilgrim
Butternut squash soup is a staple when it comes to cozy and comforting winter recipes. But this recipe takes everything that you know and love about butternut squash soup and raises it to the next level. This Roasted Butternut Squash Feta Soup (with Sourdough Feta Croutons) is a creamy bowl of joy. Filled with tender chunks of butternut squash, rich feta cheese, and the perfect amount of herbs and seasonings, this is a soup that only gets better with time. Plus, it's topped with homemade sourdough feta croutons, making this dish feel like an elevated take on grilled cheese and soup. What could be better than that?!
Ingredients
For the Soup:
- 5 Cups Butternut Squash cubed – this is approximately one large butternut squash!
- ⅓ Cup Olive Oil
- ¼ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Aleppo Pepper or 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 Teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- 1 8 Ounce Block Feta Cheese
- ½ Bulb Garlic cut in half – you'll only be using the bottom half
- 1 Quart (32 Ounces) Vegetable Broth
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
For the Sourdough Feta Croutons:
- 1 Pound Sourdough Bread cubed – this is approximately 3 cups
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 8 Ounce Container Feta Cheese Crumbles
Instructions
To Make the Soup:
- To make the soup, start by preheating your oven to 400 F.
- Next, prepare the butternut squash by washing it and chopping it into cubes. Place the cubes into a dutch oven, alongside the olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning. Toss until the butternut squash is fully coated in the seasonings.
- Nestle the feta cheese block in the center of the pot with the butternut squash, then slice the garlic bulb and place the garlic, cut-side down, onto the feta cheese block.
- Place the cover on top of the dutch oven, then place it in the oven to bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the squash is tender and the cheese is melted.
- While the soup is cooking, prepare the feta cheese croutons according to the instructions below.
- Remove the pot from the oven, take off the cover, and pull out the garlic bulb. Squeeze the garlic into the pot and add in the honey. Mix until the ingredients are fully combined.
- Then, transfer the butternut squash mixture into a blender, alongside the vegetable broth, and blend until the soup is smooth and creamy.
- Taste the soup and season with more sea salt, if desired. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with the sourdough feta croutons, then serve and enjoy!
To Make the Sourdough Feta Croutons:
- To make these croutons, start by slicing the bread into cubes.
- Next, add the bread cubes to a bowl alongside the olive oil, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning, and toss to combine.
- Then, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the feta cheese crumbles evenly across the baking sheet.
- Press the bread cubes on top of the feta cheese crumbles, so that the bread will stick to the cheese as it melts!
- Finally, place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges of the feta cheese are crispy.
- Once the croutons are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool before removing them from the baking sheet. Then, add them to the soup and enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
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WHAT DID YOU THINK?
Rate + Review
Loved it! I wasn’t sure where to add the Aleppo pepper I added it at the end as a garnish I forgot the honey it was so good and delicious without
I am so happy that you enjoyed it, Maryann! Thank you for your review!
I loved this soup so much that I made it again for our Christmas party. I served it with some crusty sourdough. Truly delicious meal.
I’m so glad I stepped outside of my comfort zone to try this one. I’m not really a soup person but this one just called to me. It was a TOTAL WINNER. So creamy and delicious.
I love the simplicity of this dish, great flavor! My husband so enjoyed! Forgot to put the honey in but did not miss it at all!
I’m so glad that you and your husband enjoyed it Linnea! Thank you so much for your review!
I made this soup about 2 weeks ago. Boy was it delicious. Only thing I did differently is that I added one shallot to mine. Such a creamy texture, super flavourful and really great for the cooler season now. I even shared this recipe with my girl friends this past weekend. Thank you Nicole!
A shallot sounds like a delicious addition to this salad, Diana! Thank you so much for making it, and for leaving such a kind review!